Rockstart fund closes at €22m

Global accelerator-VC Rockstart has announced the closing of its Agrifood fund at more than €22 million, exceeding its initial target. 

The funds raised will enable Rockstart to further invest in agritech and foodtech start-ups, and continue to co-invest in its agrifood portfolio companies up to Series B. 

Participators in the fund include Vaekstfonden’s Green Future Fund, as well as new informal investors such as Joke Pronk, longtime Rockstart investors Marcel Beemsterboer, Jasper de Rooij and Hans Maltha, and new investor global dairy cooperative Arla Foods

Rockstart invests in the transformation to a regenerative and sustainable future by supporting innovative companies in the agrifood, energy and emerging technology sectors. 

The company has already invested in 20 start-ups since its establishment in 2019. 

“Rockstart is on a mission to empower the best in class founders to change the world for the better, which is why they are always at the core of our focus,” said Rune Theill, CEO and co-founder of Rockstart. “Our passion is to create pathways and opportunities for talented founders and we do that with our domain focused fund and ecosystem. With the agrifood fund, we started a new chapter in empowering purpose-driven founders we invest in for the long-term.”

Mark Durno, managing partner AgriFood at Rockstart, added: “Our global food industry is poised for an overdue transition to more sustainable and regenerative practices. The fact that industry leaders, such as Arla, Vaekstfonden and many others, put their faith in Rockstart by investing further in our agrifood fund makes us even more optimistic that we can deliver on our mission – empower purpose-driven founders to drive positive change at a global scale.”